Intense and Beautiful
Rating: 10 of 10 
The remake of 'Wings of Desire', the American version of the German-French co-production by Wim Wenders, shares some of the same elements with its predecessor, as well as a similar premise, but apart from that, it is a totally different movie with a totally different story. This one is much more emotional, in its photography far superior as well as in its music and atmosphere. That doesn't make 'Wings' a bad movie, it just makes its remake better. Also, there are much more angels in this one, they are virtually everywhere. And the pain the protagonist angel feels when he can't share the humans' priviledge of a physical life is much better portrayed by Nicolas Cage. And then, the story develops in a different way (and also ends differently). But so much for the comparison.
The concept of guardian angels is somewhat revived by this movie, it is both a comforting and disturbing concept: Comforting because of the invisible assistence we are given, and disturbing because our privat life might not be that private as we might think. That increases our resposibilities, and it should also increase our motivation and brighten our outlook on life. Also, and that counts for both movies, they contribute to a new definition of what it means to be human: Instead of denying the physical aspect of human life, it would sometimes be much more honest and productive to accept it as a part of humanity, and not just to accept it but also to embrace it. But that shouldn't divert us from responsibility.
I've already mentioned that this is a very emotional movie; it's an organic unit of pictures and music and text, as organic as it could be. Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan deliver probably their best performances ever; and what the title of the predecessor, 'Wings of Desire', merely tried to suggest is now visible through every minute of this movie; Seth's, the angel's, longing for experiencing the physical world in every detail is most clearly portrayed, his desire for becoming human just for her is made believable as lively as it could possibly be.
November 28th, 1998
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